Up until a few years ago, Ron Eade, former food editor of the Ottawa Citizen, didn’t. “I’ve had three experiences with food poisoning. Two of those were my fault,” he sighs. Undercooked turkey on turkey/veggie kabobs was the first culprit, and a piece of old sausage he found lurking in his fridge was the second. “It didn’t smell too bad so I thought I’d just cook the hell out of it. It didn’t work. I was really sick and the nausea was unbelievable.”

Eade isn’t alone. According to Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, approximately 11 to 13 million Canadians get sick every year because of something they ate. That’s right, 11 to 13 million. And what’s even more sobering? We’re often the ones responsible.

I know, you’re thinking, “That’s not me; I know how to handle food safely.” Well, think again. Research by the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education found, among other things, that over half of us still defrost meat and poultry at room temperature at least some of the time (sound familiar?) and that half of us don’t wash our hands for the recommended 20 seconds before and after handling food.

The risk? Bacteria.

“Always defrost perishables such as your meat, fish and poultry in the fridge,” says Debra Mudryk, a professional home economist with ATCO’s Blue Flame Kitchen. “When you leave it sitting on the counter, bacteria grow at a faster rate, creating a risk for food poisoning. Defrost it in the fridge, in a sink full of cold water or in the microwave. If you use the microwave, though, make sure you cook it right away.”

There’s a lot of food safety information out there, but the Be Food Safe program (befoodsafe.ca) simplifies it by recommending we focus on four things: Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill.

- Cook foods to the proper temperature (always use a food thermometer to check!);

- Chill leftovers within two hours.

“Once food sits out for more than two hours, it’s in the danger zone and bacteria are multiplying rapidly,” explains Mudryk. “Get it in the fridge as soon as possible. And make sure your fridge is cold enough — it needs to be at 4 C or colder. Anything above that and you’re back in the danger zone.”

And once it gets into the fridge, it doesn’t last indefinitely. The cold only slows down the growth of bacteria. “Never keep leftovers in the fridge for more than two to four days except for hard-boiled eggs — they’ll last a week,” says Mudryk. “The actual number of days depends on what food you’re dealing with, though.”

Meat that comes in large portions, and any sort of ground meat, requires special attention. Mudryk recommends dividing up large quantities of meat right away. Freeze what you’re not going to use immediately in labelled freezer bags and either cook the rest or put it in the fridge.

“Never freeze the whole package unless you plan on using it all at once — you can’t thaw and refreeze raw meat,” she says.

“With cut meats like beef steaks or roasts, any harmful bacteria are normally on the outside surface and that’s the part you cook. With ground meat, though, there are bacteria multiplying on every little morsel. That’s why it needs to be cooked properly — to kill those bacteria.”

Mudryk also recommends freezing ground meat right away or cooking it the same day you bring it home. And once it’s cooked, it should be consumed or frozen within 24 hours.

“There are still a lot of ifs, ands or buts around cooking steaks, though. If it has been stored properly and if all the outside edges are cooked and if it hasn’t been pierced by a fork and if it hasn’t been mechanically tenderized by the store, you should still be able to cook a steak to rare or medium rare. It’s complicated …”

Some of Mudryk’s other recommendations include not only labelling but dating everything, reheating food only once, changing your tea towels daily and disinfecting contaminated surfaces with hot soapy water and a mixture of one tablespoon of bleach to a litre of water.

“And cooling food outside has its added dangers — just don’t do it. Even the tiniest mouse can find its way into a steaming pot of stew. I know — it happened to a friend of mine.”

As for best-before dates, well, they’re just that: a guideline of when the food is best before its quality begins to decline. They are not expiry dates.

“Best-before dates are only valid until you open the container. Once you open a salad dressing, it’s really only good for two to three months, even if the best-before date is six months away. You could use it longer than that, but the oil might start to go rancid and the colour and texture might change.

“Milk might not even last until its best-before date if you let it sit out on the table at every meal. It just depends. Health Canada recommends we don’t consume foods after the best-before date. My advice would be to buy what you can use and use it up. It sounds simple, but …”

Mudryk cautions that you can’t tell whether something is safe simply by looking at it or smelling it. Eade would agree.

“If in doubt, throw it out,” Mudryk stresses. “Or contact the Blue Flame Kitchen answer line at 1-877-420-9090 or BFKAnswerLine@atcogas.com with any questions or concerns you have. We’re here to help.”

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